When the three founders of leading property development company Third.i established the retirement living division of their business, they kept their own parents in mind.
“We said we wanted to create retirement products that we would be very proud to have our own parents living in,” one of those founders, Luke Berry, says.
“My mum and dad and all of their friends worked hard in their lives,” he said. “And I think we owe it to that generation to create something that is truly exceptional. So our goal was to build beautifully-designed, high quality apartments, combined with the kind of incredible retirement village amenity that today’s retirees are looking for.”
Now, ten years later, the company is preparing to begin construction on what will be the flagship development in its retirement living vision – The Merewether Residences at the Merewether Golf Club in Newcastle.
Third.i has announced it has now appointed a building partner for the project and has a new funding partner on board – both of which will be unveiled at a celebration event at the Merewether Golf Course on November 28. Construction is set to begin in the first quarter of 2025 and the expected completion date is 2027.
Mr Berry said that after some delays for the development, which was first approved by state planning authorities in 2021, the company was excited to get started on this landmark luxury over-55s concept.
“It is very exciting for us and everyone involved,” he said. “The project has gone through a few challenges to get to this stage but now we’re able to move ahead on creating something that will never be replicated in the region, it’s such a rare opportunity.
“It’s a once in a generation project and now we have a clear pathway to completion.”
The project includes the residential development, The Merewether Residences, that’s integrated with the existing golf course. It will comprise 178 luxury apartments overlooking the golf course, extensive amenities – including a health and wellness space and cinema, and a new Merewether Golf Club club house. It all comes together to create a resort-style lifestyle for the community of more than 300 residents who’ll be living there.
The Merewether is a shared vision between Third.i’s retirement living division, called ThirdAge Villages, and the Merewether Golf Club. It was designed by architect Eugene Marchese from Marchese Partners, a leading expert on creating over-55s communities that make life easier, more enjoyable and more fulfilling for their residents. The architectural oversight has since transitioned to the multi award-winning EJE Architecture, which has taken the lead on the ambitious project.
Mr Berry said the whole concept is aimed at helping people who are either approaching or in their retirement to transition into their “third age”.
“That’s why we called our retirement division Third Age because we want to design these communities that are reflective of the new retiree that isn’t ready to slow down – they just want to live a little more comfortably,” he said.
“The reality is retirees today want to be active. They want to play golf, and want to be out enjoying good food and wine, they want to right-size into a home that’s going to be suitable for them for the next stage of their life – their third age – but without having to compromise on anything.
“So we’re building beautiful, high-quality, generously-sized apartments but combined with the retirement village amenities and the amazing connection to the golf club which is going to have food and beverage.
“These aren’t people who are just going to go into our apartments and sit and watch the day go by. They’re on a golf course, they’re surrounded by a beautiful green sanctuary and with people who are out enjoying the spaces and the amenities – young people meeting for afternoon drinks in the bar, families celebrating a birthday at the restaurant, people catching up with friends.
“It’s set up so you can easily engage with that community and that energy when you want to but at the same time the living is also far enough away, in this lovely environment, so you can slow down and relax when you want to.”
Mr Berry said the current purchasers of the three, two and one bedroom apartments are mostly local downsizing Novocastrians but many are also people relocating from Sydney and regional New South Wales.
And among those buyers are his own parents. “My parents are going to live there and a lot of their friends have decided to buy as well,” Mr Berry said.
“We’ve got people moving from Sydney and also a lot of locals who are choosing to retire there. We’ve got a lot of farmers from the middle, west and northwest of New South Wales.
“So we are bringing together a community that’s going to be really interesting, from a lot of different backgrounds who all want to live in this beautiful environment, in a great city.”